Dan Clark Expanse Headphone Review

[amirm]

I wonder why only Dan Clark loans headphones to amirm? Why doesn't Hifiman do it? @amirm ?

Audeze has also supplied headphones. But you are right that the rest of the companies are not volunteering such. I suspect their headphones are not designed to criteria that we use to evaluate them. Or they still wrongly assume we are not an important outlet for such reviews.

 

[Doodski]

sure, you do have a point.
one problem is that people want to do their own thing and resist what is availible around them. collaberating knowledge and mass production is a good thing. how many millions of hours has been spent doing hifi research which is already complete by many others?
i can understand high prices for some time, but if they dont choose to grow and continue on this path i have no sympathy. they will sell expensive products to a small number of people for some time and possibly perish in the long term.
do you think this brand will be there 10 years from now and also asking the same high prices? i sure dont.

Unfortunately according to your ideals the present market does not permit sharing intellectual knowledge.

 

[Doodski]

Oh I'm sure he'll loan his demo unit to everyone willing to review it. Dan Clark does marketing like everyone else.

Check this press webpage.>

PRESS

danclarkaudio.com

 

[Koeitje]

4 grand for a headphone is laughable regardless of how it measures. there is nothing in materials that justifies this cost!

This is simply one of the best headphones you can buy. You pay for all the time and effort spend on R&D to get a result like this.

 

[Dan Clark]

Will this headphone get cancelled after season 6?

Made my day, mate!

 

[Human Bass]

4k is justifiable in this case. No distortion in any reasonable volume, incredible FR. That's an OK price for this kind of extreme performance

 

[KiyPhi]

I assume you mean "seal" and not "deal." They seal very well on my head. That is all I can say. I am sure when more people buy them, they will report on this.

I did, sorry, I'm not proficient with typing on my phone. If you place your little finger between your pad and head, does the entire low end fall off?

 

[stevenswall]

In the Headfi interview Jude mentions liking a ZMF headphone more at lower volumes, and I think that is missing from these otherwise excellent headphones: Something to EQ it to an equal loudness contour so that it sounds just as incredibly balanced at low volume levels.

That's actually something a lot more speakers and headphones need. The Sonos One speakers sound better to many people I show my speakers to when they compare them to softly playing Kalin IN-8 monitors or Genelecs.

 

[Robbo99999]

I might sell my HD800, SR-007 and a few lesser 'phones for this, honestly. What's the point of having other ones when you can have performance like this?

Think about soundstage variable before you sell the HD800, there's no guarantee this perfect measuring headphone (& I think it's ok to command that price) will have a better or same soundstage.....probably safely get rid of all other headphones with worse soundstage.

 

[Phoney]

Well.. There's one other open back that has a frequency response like this, and it costs $60.000. Oh, and the DCA response is also slightly better.

 

[Robbo99999]

I sure do hope there is a decent warranty on these and the Stealth models, wouldn't want to plunk down $4000 for just a year's coverage.
But damn, I sure would love a pair of these bad boys.

I agree, I think when you outlay that kind of money for a headphone (regardless of R&D costs) I think customer support & warranty should be also at the pinnacle/best!

 

[poxymoron]

4 grand for a headphone is laughable regardless of how it measures. there is nothing in materials that justifies this cost!

Far better off keeping the 4k, saving up another 1k, and getting the Audioquest Thunderbird Zero speaker cable. At least they're made of, well, I don't know WTF they're made of. Then, save up another sh!t ton of money to pair them with Audioquest's dedicated Bass cables. Give me a break.

 

[Dennis_FL]

Well considering that the Webb telescope was reasonable at only $10 Billion... $4k is too damn much for a headphone. I still want one though, the telescope I mean. I own the DCA Closed X and am a fan of the company and products.

$4K is about 1/5 the student loan forgiveness. You can buy a Hasselblad on top of that !!!

 

[poxymoron]

Well.. There's one other open back that has a frequency response like this, and it costs $60.000.

Do tell.

 

[Phoney]

I agree, I think when you outlay that kind of money for a headphone (regardless of R&D costs) I think customer support & warranty should be also at the pinnacle/best!

In Norway we have a right of complaint on all electronics (and other products) that are supposed to last. If they fail before 5 years pass, even out of warranty (which is allways 2 years or more), we have a right to get it fixed for free. Ofcourse if they fail inside of warranty we can still choose to either get the money back, get a replacement unit, or get something else. All of this as long as it's not our own fault that it breaks. It even makes it safe for us to buy the expensive Hifimans like my Arya. We're very lucky to have that rule.

 

[Robbo99999]

sure, you do have a point.
one problem is that people want to do their own thing and resist what is availible around them. collaberating knowledge and mass production is a good thing. how many millions of hours has been spent doing hifi research which is already complete by many others?
i can understand high prices for some time, but if they dont choose to grow and continue on this path i have no sympathy. they will sell expensive products to a small number of people for some time and possibly perish in the long term.
do you think this brand will be there 10 years from now and also asking the same high prices? i sure dont.

I would think for future products that the technology & manufacturing knowledge they have shown will either result in lower prices for similar products that are released or they will use their expertise to take headphones to the next level (which I think is difficult, but possible....unfortunately it would involve individualised DSP to your personalised anatomy, which might not suit the DCA strengths, but I don't know).

 

[asrUser]

Probably would have to send 2 pairs for higher chance that one actually has no channel Imbalance?

That's a nice running gag!

 

[Phoney]

Do tell.

Sennheiser HE1. Well you also get an amp, but you have to buy that amp with it.

 

[_thelaughingman]

omg omg everybody calm down, i'm having a freakout!!

Excellent review as always, where do we go from here for kilobuck quality headphones with good target compliance?

 

[poxymoron]

I would think for future products that the technology & manufacturing knowledge they have shown will either will result in lower prices for similar products that are released or they will use their expertise to take headphones to the next level (which I think is difficult, but possible....unfortunately it would involve individualised DSP to your personalised anatomy, which might not suit the DCA strengths, but I don't know).

That would be nice but Dan Clark Audio's last annual report states that revenue growth was fuelled by their Stealth headphones, which were also their most successful product launch. I wouldn't hold my breath.